ST. LOUIS -- Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe was among seven Minnesota Vikings who didn't make the trip to St. Louis for Saturday's preseason opener against the Rams.

Shiancoe has been battling an unknown strain and missed significant practice time over the past week.

With the starters only set to play series in a meaningless game, the impact of the absences meant little for the Vikings offense, which didn't have anything close to its full stable during training camp.